I was recently asked to explain nonprofit marketing at its most basic level.

Many people in our sector answer this question by describing what I think of as communications: Creating and distributing content to people about the nonprofit and its issues.

But marketing is more strategic than that. So here’s how I explain it:

Nonprofit marketing is using communications to build relationships that help you change the world.

Here’s what I mean in more detail, using a little classic marketing lingo.

Marketing is all about communicating what’s called the “value exchange.”

In the business world, corporations communicate the benefits of their products, then customers exchange money for those products. Sometimes the product is something you can hold like a pair of shoes and sometimes it’s an experience, like a concert. But it always has some kind of value that has been communicated through marketing and to get that value, you exchange money for it.

In nonprofits, we also have value exchanges, but what we are exchanging with people is a bit more complicated. Nonprofits can market products and experiences, but they also market positive changes in the world and emotional benefits too.

Sometimes donors give nonprofits money as the value exchange — we call that fundraising.

What do donors get in return? They usually get an emotional benefit like hope or a sense of accomplishment that they are fighting hunger or protecting the environment. They are also entitled to certain tax benefits, or might be giving to be publicly known as a sponsor. But nonprofit marketing is about much more than fundraising.

The value exchange doesn’t need to have money attached. 

Nonprofits also want to raise awareness and educate people about their issues. They often want to recruit program participants or volunteers, or change hearts and minds on important causes. Marketing helps with all these goals and many more.

Where’s the value exchange there? Participants give their time and attention to the nonprofit. In exchange, the nonprofit usually gets one step closer to achieving their mission, whether it’s reducing domestic violence or beautifying a neighborhood. Participants and volunteers get some kind of emotional payback, such as feeling physically safer or knowing they’ve made their community a better place for their children.

The value exchange in practice:

Here’s a few examples of how the value exchange can show up in three different nonprofit types with different overarching goals:

• Professional Association Nonprofit
  • Nonprofit Goal: Building our membership by recruiting and serving members of our organization
  • Marketing Tactic: Host recruitment events at college campuses and trade fairs
  • Value Exchange: Aligning yourself with our cause will make you a stronger advocate for your clients
• Health Issue Nonprofit
  • Nonprofit Goal: Raising awareness of our issues to educate people on our cause
  • Marketing Tactic: Create informational flyers on heart attack signs to look out for
  • Value Exchange: Paying attention to what we are offering you might save a loved ones life
• Children’s Afterschool Nonprofit
  • Nonprofit Goal: Brand building and reputation management for the organization
  • Marketing Tactic: Film several social media testimonials of former participants
  • Value Exchange: If I support this nonprofit, children in my community will grow up well

     

Marketing is what makes all of these connections and relationships happen, setting the stage for the value exchange.

You’ll use nonprofit marketing to raise money, to raise awareness, to educate people, to encourage participation, to recruit program participants and volunteers, and more. But always keep that value exchange in mind — what are people getting in return for engaging with your nonprofit? Knowing that answer will help you create communications that build those relationships over time.

(Read More: Is your work called marketing, communications, or something else?)